innervoice/README.md

InnerVoice

Your inner thoughts, delivered to Telegram

MCP Server for Two-Way Communication with Claude Code and any app

This is a proper Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables any Claude instance to communicate with you via Telegram. Just grant Claude access to this MCP server, and it can send notifications, ask questions, and receive messages from you in real-time!

🆕 New to MCP servers? Start with the Beginner's Guide - zero experience required!

Free to use, share, and modify! See LICENSE for details.

Why This Exists

After trying email, SMS, and Google Chat integrations, Telegram emerged as the best solution for:

• ✅ Standardized MCP Integration - Works with any Claude instance automatically
• ✅ Instant two-way communication
• ✅ Free and reliable
• ✅ Works on all devices
• ✅ Simple setup
• ✅ No carrier dependencies

Features

• 💬 Two-Way Communication - Send messages to Claude, get responses back
• ❓ Question/Answer Flow - Claude can ask you questions and wait for answers
• 📬 Message Queue - Messages queue up when Claude is busy, get answered ASAP
• 🔔 Priority Notifications - Different icons for info, success, warning, error, question
• 🌐 HTTP API - Easy integration from any app/project
• 🚀 Background Service - Runs independently, always available
• 🔧 MCP Protocol - Works as a standard MCP server in any Claude project

How It Works

This is a standard MCP server that works like any other MCP tool. Once installed and configured:

1. Bridge runs as a background service (connects to Telegram)
2. MCP server is auto-started by Claude when needed
3. Claude discovers 5 tools automatically
4. You communicate via Telegram in real-time

Quick Start

1. Create Your Telegram Bot

1. Open Telegram and search for @BotFather
2. Send /newbot
3. Follow the prompts:
   • Choose a name for your bot (e.g., "My Claude Bridge")
   • Choose a username (e.g., "my_claude_bridge_bot")
4. Save your bot token - BotFather will give you a token like:

   1234567890:ABCdefGHIjklMNOpqrsTUVwxyz
   

5. Find your bot in Telegram using the username you created

2. Install and Configure

# Clone or download this repo
cd innervoice

# Install dependencies
pnpm install

# The .env file is created automatically!
# Just edit it and add your bot token
# TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=your_token_here

Edit .env:

TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=1234567890:ABCdefGHIjklMNOpqrsTUVwxyz
TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID=  # Leave empty - auto-set on first use
PORT=3456
HOST=localhost
ENABLED=true

3. Build and Start

# Build the project
pnpm build

# Start the bridge service
pnpm dev

# Or run as background daemon
pnpm daemon

4. Initialize Your Bot

1. Open Telegram and find your bot
2. Send /start to your bot
3. The bot will reply and save your chat ID automatically
4. Test with /status to verify it's working

5. Add MCP Server to Claude

✨ Auto-Start Feature: The MCP server now automatically starts the Telegram bridge when needed - no need to run it separately!

Option A: Claude Code CLI (Recommended)

Note: Using claude mcp add automatically adds the server globally (available in all projects). This is the recommended approach.

For Mac and Linux:

# Navigate to the innervoice directory
cd /path/to/innervoice

# Add the MCP server globally (available in all projects)
claude mcp add --transport stdio telegram \
  --env TELEGRAM_BRIDGE_URL=http://localhost:3456 \
  -- node "$(pwd)/dist/mcp-server.js"

# Verify it was added globally
claude mcp list

For Windows (PowerShell):

# Navigate to the innervoice directory
cd C:\path\to\innervoice

# Add the MCP server globally
claude mcp add --transport stdio telegram `
  --env TELEGRAM_BRIDGE_URL=http://localhost:3456 `
  -- node "$((Get-Location).Path)\dist\mcp-server.js"

# Verify it was added
claude mcp list

For Windows (Command Prompt):

# Navigate to the innervoice directory
cd C:\path\to\innervoice

# Add the MCP server globally
claude mcp add --transport stdio telegram --env TELEGRAM_BRIDGE_URL=http://localhost:3456 -- node "%CD%\dist\mcp-server.js"

# Verify it was added
claude mcp list

Option B: Manual Config File Setup

Add to your Claude Code MCP settings:

Mac/Linux: ~/.claude.json Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.claude.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "telegram": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/innervoice/dist/mcp-server.js"
      ],
      "env": {
        "TELEGRAM_BRIDGE_URL": "http://localhost:3456"
      }
    }
  }
}

Find your absolute path:

Mac/Linux:

cd innervoice && pwd
# Use output: <result>/dist/mcp-server.js

Windows (PowerShell):

cd innervoice
(Get-Location).Path
# Use output: <result>\dist\mcp-server.js

Windows (Command Prompt):

cd innervoice
cd
# Use output: <result>\dist\mcp-server.js

6. Available Tools

Once configured, Claude can automatically use:

• telegram_notify - Send notifications
• telegram_ask - Ask questions and wait for answers
• telegram_get_messages - Check for messages from you
• telegram_reply - Reply to your messages
• telegram_check_health - Check bridge status
• telegram_toggle_afk - Toggle AFK mode (enable/disable notifications)

View detailed tool info:

pnpm tools
# or
node scripts/list-tools.js

7. AFK Mode - Control Your Notifications

Use the /afk slash command to toggle notifications on/off:

# In Claude Code, just type:
/afk

This is perfect for:

• Enabling when you step away from your computer (get notified via Telegram)
• Disabling when you're actively working (no interruptions)

The toggle state is preserved while the bridge is running, and you'll get a Telegram message confirming each change.

Optional: Install Permission Notification Hook

By default, AFK mode only sends notifications when Claude explicitly uses notification tools. If you want to receive Telegram alerts when permission prompts appear (so you know Claude is waiting for approval), install the permission hook:

# From the innervoice directory
cd /path/to/innervoice

# Install in a specific project
./scripts/install-hook.sh /path/to/your/project

# Or install in current directory
cd /path/to/your/project
/path/to/innervoice/scripts/install-hook.sh

This will send you a Telegram message like:

⏸️ Claude needs permission Tool: Bash Action: Check scraped sets files Check your terminal to approve or deny.

To uninstall: Simply delete .claude/hooks/PermissionRequest.sh from your project.

8. Verify Global Setup

After adding the MCP server, verify it's available globally:

# Check that telegram appears in the list
claude mcp list

# Should show:
# ✓ telegram: Connected

Troubleshooting: If telegram only appears in one project but not others, it was added to a project-specific config instead of globally. To fix:

1. Open ~/.claude.json in your editor
2. Find the telegram server config under projects → your-project-path → mcpServers
3. Move it to the root-level mcpServers section (same level as other global servers)
4. Remove the telegram entry from the project-specific section

Example structure:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "telegram": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/innervoice/dist/mcp-server.js"],
      "env": {"TELEGRAM_BRIDGE_URL": "http://localhost:3456"}
    }
  },
  "projects": {
    "/your/project/path": {
      "mcpServers": {}  // Should be empty or not contain telegram
    }
  }
}

9. Test It

Restart Claude Code, then tell Claude:

"Send me a test notification via Telegram"

Claude will automatically discover and use the telegram_notify tool!

MCP Tools Reference

Once configured, Claude can automatically use these tools:

telegram_notify

Send a notification to you via Telegram.

Parameters:

• message (required): The notification text (supports Markdown)
• priority (optional): info | success | warning | error | question

Example Claude Usage:

"I've completed the database migration. Let me notify you." Claude uses: telegram_notify({ message: "Database migration complete!", priority: "success" })

telegram_ask

Ask you a question and wait for your answer (blocking).

Parameters:

• question (required): The question to ask (supports Markdown)
• timeout (optional): Milliseconds to wait (default: 300000 = 5 min)

Example Claude Usage:

"Should I deploy to production? Let me ask you." Claude uses: telegram_ask({ question: "Deploy to production now?" }) Waits for your response via Telegram

telegram_get_messages

Check for unread messages from you.

Example Claude Usage:

"Let me check if you've sent any messages." Claude uses: telegram_get_messages({})

telegram_reply

Reply to your message via Telegram.

Parameters:

• message (required): Your reply (supports Markdown)

Example Claude Usage:

"I'll respond to your question via Telegram." Claude uses: telegram_reply({ message: "The build succeeded!" })

telegram_check_health

Check if the Telegram bridge is running and healthy.

Example Claude Usage:

"Let me verify the Telegram bridge is working." Claude uses: telegram_check_health({})

telegram_toggle_afk

Toggle AFK (Away From Keyboard) mode - enables or disables Telegram notifications.

No parameters required

Example Claude Usage:

"Toggle AFK mode" Claude uses: telegram_toggle_afk({})

When to use:

• Enable when stepping away from your computer (get notifications)
• Disable when actively working (avoid interruptions)
• State is preserved while the bridge is running

Git Setup (For Sharing)

If you want to push this to your own Git repository:

# Initialize git (if not already done)
git init

# Add all files (gitignore protects secrets)
git add .

# Commit
git commit -m "Initial commit: Telegram MCP server"

# Add your remote
git remote add origin https://github.com/yourusername/innervoice.git

# Push
git push -u origin main

What's Safe to Share:

• ✅ All source code
• ✅ .env.example (template)
• ✅ Documentation
• ✅ Configuration templates

What's Protected (in .gitignore):

• 🔒 .env (your bot token and secrets)
• 🔒 node_modules/
• 🔒 dist/

For Others Cloning Your Repository

When someone clones your repo, they need to:

1. Create their own Telegram bot with @BotFather
2. Copy the template: cp .env.example .env
3. Add their bot token to .env
4. Install and build: pnpm install && pnpm build
5. Follow the Quick Start guide above

Legacy HTTP API (For Direct Integration)

If you want to use the HTTP API directly (without MCP), you can:

// Simple notification
await fetch('http://localhost:3456/notify', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    message: 'Scraping complete! Found 500 skills.',
    priority: 'success'
  })
});

// Question with markdown
await fetch('http://localhost:3456/notify', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    message: '*Question:*\nContinue scraping sets?\n\nReply: yes/no',
    priority: 'question',
    parseMode: 'Markdown'
  })
});

Priority Levels

• info - ℹ️ General information
• success - ✅ Task completed
• warning - ⚠️ Warning message
• error - ❌ Error occurred
• question - ❓ Needs your input

Bot Commands

Type these in Telegram to control the bridge:

• /start - Initialize connection and save your chat ID
• /help - Show all available commands and how to use the bridge
• /status - Check bridge status (enabled, unread messages, pending questions)
• /test - Send a test notification to verify it's working

How Two-Way Communication Works

You → Claude

1. Send any message to the bot in Telegram
2. Bot acknowledges with "💬 Message received - responding..."
3. Claude checks messages and responds when available
4. You get the response in Telegram

Claude → You (Notifications)

Claude sends you updates via the /notify API endpoint with different priorities

Claude → You (Questions)

1. Claude sends a question via /ask API
2. You see "❓ [question]" in Telegram
3. Your next message is automatically treated as the answer
4. Claude receives your answer and continues

Running as Background Service

# Build production version
pnpm build

# Start as daemon (requires pm2)
npm install -g pm2
pnpm daemon

# Check logs
pnpm logs

# Stop daemon
pnpm stop

API Endpoints

POST /notify

Send a notification to user

Request:

{
  "message": "Your notification text",
  "priority": "info|success|warning|error|question",
  "parseMode": "Markdown|HTML"
}

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "chatId": "7684777367"
}

GET /messages

Get unread messages from user

Response:

{
  "messages": [
    {
      "from": "Richard",
      "message": "What's the status?",
      "timestamp": "2025-11-23T04:00:52.395Z",
      "read": false
    }
  ],
  "count": 1
}

POST /messages/read

Mark messages as read

Request:

{
  "count": 2  // optional, marks all if not provided
}

Response:

{
  "markedAsRead": 2
}

POST /reply

Send a reply to user's message

Request:

{
  "message": "Here's my response to your question"
}

Response:

{
  "success": true
}

POST /ask

Ask user a question and wait for answer (blocking)

Request:

{
  "question": "Should I continue scraping?",
  "timeout": 300000  // optional, 5 min default
}

Response:

{
  "answer": "yes"
}

GET /health

Check service health

Response:

{
  "status": "running",
  "enabled": true,
  "chatId": "set",
  "unreadMessages": 0,
  "pendingQuestions": 0
}

POST /toggle

Toggle notifications on/off (AFK mode)

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "enabled": true,
  "previousState": false,
  "message": "🟢 InnerVoice notifications ENABLED - You will receive messages"
}

GET /status

Get current notification state

Response:

{
  "enabled": true,
  "message": "Notifications are ON"
}

Integration with ESO-MCP

Add this helper to your ESO-MCP project:

// src/utils/notify.ts
export async function notify(message: string, priority = 'info') {
  try {
    await fetch('http://localhost:3456/notify', {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
      body: JSON.stringify({ message, priority })
    });
  } catch (error) {
    console.log('Telegram bridge not available');
  }
}

Then use anywhere:

await notify('✅ Skills scraping complete!', 'success');
await notify('❌ Failed to scrape sets page', 'error');

Environment Variables

TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=your_token_here
TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID=auto_detected
PORT=3456
HOST=localhost
ENABLED=true

Development

Want to contribute or modify the bridge? See CONTRIBUTING.md for local development setup.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details

Contact

• Issues: https://github.com/RichardDillman/innervoice/issues
• Email: rdillman@gmail.com